"for I am with you." Judges 6:12

Faith Communities

Some days I feel like having a little more freedom in worship and raising my hands and swaying my hips and I think about joining the Vineyards.

Sometimes I crave a bit more friendly debate on relevant issues and I think about visiting with the United Methodists.

Occasionally I get tired of worrying about how I’m dressed and I think about going to a church where the leadership all dresses the same to remind me of a unified front against poverty and I think about joining forces with the Salvation Army.

Some times I desire a bit more reverence and communion with God and I think I should worship at the local Catholic Church.

I get curious once in a while about people who worship with emphasis on speaking in tongues, and although I might be uncomfortable at times, I think that might be good once in a while to worship with the Pentecostals.

Then I visit the Evangelical Lutheran Church website and I see the way they emphasize caring for the disenfranchised and I want to know more about how they’re making a difference around the world.

And then sometimes I get tired if the weight of denominational chains that slow things down and I wonder if there really is more freedom in a non-denominational church.

And sometimes I wonder about my own denomination, the Free Methodist Church, and I want to be a part of the re-awakening of a denomination that has a rich history in standing for what is right and just.

At times, the fighting I see on tv, in my neighborhoods, among family and across the ocean seems too much and I want the peaceful community of the Society of Friends.

Sometimes it seems like there are churches that focus on who not to like rather than who to love, but I wouldn’t put the Presbyterian Church (USA) in that group. They seem to like everyone and I like that.

And sometimes when I realize I’m not treating my body with the respect that God desires, and I think about the Seventh-Day Adventist and I appreciate the discipline they emphasize in their lives.

But mostly I want to be in community with people who love Jesus and give evidence of that love.

Do you need to be challenged by one of these faith communities?

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

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One thought on “Faith Communities”

I think you just want to be a part of the body of Christ. We are the called out ones, the body of Christ–it is man who has made the various denominations and divided us up. Sometimes it makes me sad to think about the divisions and misunderstandings between us. We are the body of Christ. We are the Ecclesia, the called out ones. We are the church–and we are invisible in that we don’t need a building or denominational rules or labels. Each part of the body has its own function, so maybe that is why we are so differrnt? Some move and sway, some speak in tongues, some … you get the idea.